NEWS: Lowline Fire burning up Ohio Creek, A2
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VOL. 142. NO. 30 | THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2023 | $1.00
Ridgeway man owes $100,000 to county Court finds Gottorff dumped sewage near Lake Irwin Times Staff Report
A Ridgeway man has been found liable for nearly $100,000 in attorneys fees in a lawsuit brought against him by Gunnison County. The order is the newest development in a case that has dragged on for nearly two years, while Gunnison County Community and Economic Irwin A8
BLUEGRASS ON THE RANCH: (Left to right) Tanner Rein and Jake Everson with the Crested Butte-based Secondhand String Band strummed some sweet bluegrass on July 25 at the I Bar Ranch. The event was put on as a part of the 2023 Tincwup Whiskey Concert Series. (Photo by Abby Harrison)
MetRec awards nearly half a million TODAY dollars to local nonprofits INSIDE
NEWS : Spruce Street construction starting soon, A5
Funds flowing to VanTuyl bridge, GHS soccer team Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
COMMUNITY: Local animals get second chance, B1
SPORTS: 12U baseball competes with the best, B7
OBITUARIES A3
Last week, the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (MetRec) awarded nearly half a million dollars to nonprofits and other
SPORTS B7 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
local budgets. “As the recreation district, our primary goal is to promote vital recreation opportunities. These grants are not just investments in individual organizations but also in the overall well-being, happiness and vitality of our community,” District Manager Derrick Nehrenberg wrote in a statement to the Times. The grant program differed this year from past cycles. MetRec redesigned the program and separated the funding
out into three categories: capital, nonprofit operations support and community collaboration. MetRec is also piloting multiyear grants and this year, and the Crested Butte Avalanche Center is one recipient. The nonprofit received a $40,000 multi-year grant that will support the organization’s operational expenses and expand its outreach program, meant to educate dog-walkers, Nordic skiers and members of the gen MetRec A7
‘Proceed at your own risk’ Dangers at Psychedelic Falls persist through the decades
OPINION A4-A5 CLASSIFIEDS A15-A18
organizations at both ends of the valley. This year’s grant budget was its largest ever. In 2022, North Subdistrict property owners voted to increase their property taxes through ballot measure 6B, a move which effectively bumped the District’s overall budget from $300,000 to $1.2 million. The district received 30 applications over a month and a half and funded 26. MetRec fully funded each of the approved projects, amounting to over $472,000 flowing into
Bella Biondini Times Editor
Greg Haase’s home is tucked away in the trees on the side of the Gunnison River, just west of the busy banks of the local whitewater park. From his back-
yard, he can usually hear the screams of glee as rafters pass through a water feature known by locals as “Psychedelic Falls.” But he recalled an afternoon late last year when those shouts turned into a scream for help. The water had pinned a woman against trees and debris in the river. She held on tightly to her kayak, frozen with fear and from the cold of the water, as Haase called 911. Emergency responders arrived minutes later. The river had been quiet that afternoon, and he couldn’t help Falls A6
The Kemel-Owens ditch diversion, known locally as Psychedelic Falls, sits just west of the Gunnison Whitewater Park. (Photos by Bella Biondini)